Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Receives $73.44 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.44.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on TECH shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of TECH traded up $1.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $48.69. 1,854,369 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,303,577. The company has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. Bio-Techne has a 12-month low of $46.01 and a 12-month high of $83.62. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $51.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.05. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. The company had revenue of $316.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 10,799 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,394 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Bio-Techne by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 43,144 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells life science reagents, instruments, and services for the research and clinical diagnostic markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Greater China, rest of Asia-Pacific, and internationally.